Ice-cube tray



March zs, 1947- c. A. BAUER ICE-CUBE TRAY 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 27 March 25 1947. c, BAUER ICE-CUBE TRAY Filed July 2'7, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 25 1947 ICE-CUBE TRAY Charles A. Bauer, Newburg, Ind., assignor to Hoosier Cardinal Corporation, Evansville, Ind.,

a corporation of Indiana Application July 27, 1945, Serial No. 607,377

6 Claims. (01. 62-1085) My invention relates to ice-cube trays of the kind commonly employed in domestic refrigerators for the production of ice cubes. It is the object of my invention to produce an ice-cube tray and a grid therefor so constructed that the ice cubes and grid can be readily freed from the tray and the cubes then readily freed from the grid. A further object of my invention is to produce such a tray and grid which can be simply and economically constructed and which will prove sturdy and durable in use.

In .carrying out my invention in its preferred form I employ a tray capable of producing a single row of ice cubes of the desired size. Such tray is generally rectangular in shape, but its end and sidewalls are given a re-entrant form such that the presence of a block 01' ice in the tray and bonded to the walls thereof will not interfere with a deformation of the tray by which the distance between adjacent tray-comers will be increased. Adjacent diagonally opposite corners of the tray, extensions of the side walls provide ears to which pressure can be applied to warp the tray and free it from the'ice block within it. The preferred form of grid for use with the tray comprises a top, which overlaps and is supported from the side walls of the tray, and one or more transverse partitions, which divide the tray into compartments of the desired size. The grid-top is so arranged and constructed, and so connected to the partition or partitions that the light ice cubes; Fig. 2 is a simple plan view of thetray showing the normal position of the grid in dotted lines; Fig.3 is a vertical, longitudinal, center section through the tray and grid; Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the grid removed from the tray; Fig. 5-is' a side elevation in partial section of the grid of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6- is an isometric view of a modifiedform of grid.

The tray as shown in the drawings comprisesa bottom wall l0, side walls II, and end walls l2. Each of the end and side walls II and I2 is curved horizontally so as to present a convex surface to the Reformed within the tray. Adjacent the corners of the tray the side walls are provided withextensions forming outwardly bent ears B which are of use'in breaking the bond between the ice and the tray.

tray from the ice-block within it. the ears l3 may also serve to locate a grid -by which the interior of the tray is divided into compartments. The grid shown in Figs. 1 and 3 through 5 inclusive is conveniently molded of a suitable plastic and comprises a flexible vertical partition I4 integral with a top l5 which is divided into two parts by a slot l6 extending transversely of the partition l4. Intermediate its upper edge, the partition I4 is notched, as indicated at l1 to leave only its upper corners connected respectively to the two portions of the top I 5. As a result of the slot l6 and notch I I, the mid-portion of the partition I4 beneath the notch may readily be flexed by relative movement of the two por- I to bridge the tray and a width such as to be received between the ears l3 on the side walls of the tray to locate the grid longitudinally there- 01. Preferably, the ends of the partition conform rather closely to the side walls ll of the tray, but the bottom of the partition is spaced above the tray-bottom to leave a gap I8 through which water may flow to equalize the level in the two compartments into which the partition l4 divides the interior of the tray. i

In use, the tray is filled with water to the desired level and, with the grid positioned as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, is placed within the freezing compartment of the refrigerator.- When the water is frozen and it is desired to remove the ice, the tray is withdrawn from the freezing compartment and subjected to a torque applied about a longitudinal axis. in applying this torque, the tray may be grasped with the hands in the manner indicated in Fig. '1, with the thumbs bearing on cars l3 at diagonally opposite corners of-the tray. With the tray so held, the hands are -rotated in opp site directions to apply downward and outward pressures to the two diagonally op-' posite ears l3 while the tray-bottom is supported upon the fingers. The stress thus imposed upon the tray causes it to warp. and in such warping the side walls ll, end walls l2, and bottom ID are peeled from the ice block within the tray. Because f the re-entrant form ofthe side and end walls. the presence of th ce b o k within the tray does not interfere with relative outward movement of the tray-comers under the forces" applied by the hands, and as a result the peeling of the tray-walls'and bottoms from the ice block I is readily effected.

In addition to facilitating the freeing of'the After the ice block and grid are freed from the tray in the manner just indicated, the gridtop 15 is grasped endwise between the thumb and forefinger of one handand elevated slightly to lift it and the ice cubes adhering to opposite sides of the partition II from the tray. In this lifting, the thumb and forefinger are desirably placed out of the plane of the partition I so that they can apply to the top forces indicated by the arrows 20 in Fig. 4. As will be noted, such forces are displaced from the plane of the partition I and hence tend to bend in a horizontal plane the mid-portion of the partition, which is freed of connection with the top by reason of the notch II. In such bending, the bonds between the partition II and the ice cubes on opposite sides thereof are readily broken and the cubes drop back into the tray. Flexing of the partition II in the manner just noted is limited by engagement with each other of the two parts of the top and is controlled in extent by the width of the slot l6. 1

An alternative form of grid, which divides the tray into three compartments instead of into but two, is illustrated in Fig. 6. The'grid of Fig. 6 is desirably formed of sheet metalhaving a rectangular central portion 25 which constitutes the top of the finished grid. At its ends, the top 25 is provided with shallow down-bent flanges 28, while along its sides it is provided with downbent flanges 21 adapted to reach to or nearly to the bottom of the tray. For a distance intermediate its extent laterally of the tray, each partition 21 is freed from connection with the top by means of a slot 28, and the two slots 28' are interconnected'by a third slot 29. A fourth slot 30, located central y of the top and perpendicularly to the slot 29, extends between the end flanges 26.

grid therefor, said tray being generally rectangular in shape and having integral bottom, side,

and end walls, said side and end walls bein curved horizontally to present convex faces inwardly of the tray, said side walls being provided adjacent their ends with upwardly and outwardly projecting ears, said grid comprising a top and one or more flexible vertical partitions integral therewith and extending transversely of the tray to divide the interior thereof intoa plurality cf compartments, said top resting on the upper edges of the side walls of the tray between the ears thereon, said ears serving to locate the grid longitudinally of the tray.

3. An elongated, generally rectangular icecube tray having integral bottom, side, and end walls, said end and side walls being curved horizontally to present convex faces directed inwardly of the tray, said side walls being provided at their upper edges and adjacent diagonally opposite corners of the tray with ears adapted respectively to receive the thumbs of an operator applying a warping torque to the tray, the material of which the tray-walls are formed being suificiently rigid to be undistorted by the hydrostatic pressure of water within the tray and sufiiciently flexible to permit the tray to warp when As a result of the slots 28, .29. and 30, the top 25, considered as a whole, has little rigidity in its own plane,- as the slots divide it into four corner portions interconnected only by the flanges 26 and partitions 21. As the result, if pressure is applied to the flanges 26 in line with the slot 30. as indicated by the arrows 3|, the partitions 21 will be flexed and the ice cubes freed therefrom in the same manner as ice cubes are freed from the partitions M of the grid shown in Figs. 1 to 5 when pressure is applied thereto as indicated by the arrows 20.

It is of course to be understood that a grid may be omitted if it is not desired to subdivide the tray.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, an ice-cube tray and a grid therefor, said tray being generally rectangular in shape and having integral bottom, side, and end walls, said side and end walls being curved horizontally to present convex faces inwardly bf the tray, said side walls being provided adjacent their ends with upwardly and outwardly projecting ears. said grid comprising a top and one or more flexible vertical partitions integral therewith and extending transversely of the tray to divide the interior thereof into a plurality of compartments, said top resting on the upper edges of the side walls of the tray between the ears thereon, said ears serving to locate the grid longitudinally of the tray, said grid-top being divided longitudinally of the tray into two sections interconnected by said partisubjected to such warping torque manually applied about a longitudinal axis.-

4. An elongated, generally rectangular icecube tray having integral bottom, side, and em.

walls, said end and side walls being curved horizontally to present convex faces directed inwardly of the tray, the material of which the tray-walls are formed being sufficiently rigid to be undistorted by the hydrostatic pressure of water within the tray and sufficiently flexible to permit the tray to warp when oppositely directed rotative efforts are applied to opposite ends' of the tray to twist it about a generally longitudinal axis.

5. A grid for dividing an ice-cube tray into compartments, said .grid. comprising a flexible, vertical partition and top-sections rigidly connected to the upper edge of said partitions at points spaced therealong and projecting horizontally in the same direction from the plane of the partition, said top-sections being spaced apart whereby the partition may be flexed by the application to the top sections of opposed forces parallel to but displaced laterally from the partition, said top sections also projecting longitudinally of the partition beyond the ends there of for reception on the upper edges of opposite side walls of an ice-cube tray.

6. A grid for dividing an ice-cube tray into compartments, said grid comprising a flexible, vertical partition and top-sections rigidly connected to the upper edge of said partitions at points spaced therealong and projecting horizontally in the same direction from the plane of the partition, said top-sections being spaced apart whereby the partition may be flexed by the application to the top sections of opposed forces parallel to but displaced laterally from the partition.

v CHARLES A. BAUER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

-UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,122,937 Geyer July 5, 1938 -2,168,739 Miner Aug. 8, 1939 

